Succession S4 Episode 3's Most Emotional Moment Was Unscripted

Contains spoilers for "Succession" Season 4, Episode 3 — "Connor's Wedding"

Never let it be said that "Succession" doesn't know how to dole out a whole lot of heartbreak in a very short amount of time. During "Conner's Wedding," the Roy siblings lose their father, Logan (Brian Cox) — not in a dramatic fashion but suddenly, while he's aboard the company jet on a flight to Sweden. His children are left alone to grapple with their grief. The media empire they have spent seasons scrambling to hold onto is set to be absorbed by another company, and now their patriarch is gone.

In the midst of their struggles, the siblings do manage to do one thing as a united front: at the airport where they arrive to meet the plane carrying Logan's body, they participate in a group hug before separating to deal with their affairs. Apparently that moment was completely improvised. As director Mark Mylod told Variety, "That lovely unscripted, three-way hug between them, which I thought was really beautiful, they just fell into." 

"Succession" director Mark Mylod confirmed that all three actors improvised the moment on the set on the day of filming. "They just fell into each other there, which was just gorgeous," he explained. That Shiv (Sarah Snook), Roman (Kieran Culkin) and Kendall (Jeremy Strong) all choose to separate after the embrace makes it even more powerful in Mylod's opinion: "I found that tremendously poignant. That was an incredibly busy day shooting. But it was very, very emotional for all of us."

It's perhaps not surprising that each actor was moved after having to deliver such emotionally pulverizing material. The Roy siblings, however, each begin mourning in their own way and mainly spend the episode either trying to control the situation or licking their wounds alone. Shiv leaves with Tom (Matthew Macfadyen), seeking comfort from her husband even though their marriage has been in a state of disrepair for some time. Roman boards the plane to view Logan's body, then accompany it off the jet. That leaves Kendall alone on the tarmac with his own thoughts, watching his father's body being loaded into the ambulance from a distance. It's a reflection of both the fierce individualism of the family and their unity. There's caring there, but also selfishness — which is ultimately the Roy way.